Dykie's Top 5

May 17, 2017 Mike

Boy do we have something special for you today. We've managed to get the one and only man alone on a mission, Matthew 'Dykie' Ryan to do a Top 5 for us.

Photo: Jerome Loughran

For those of you out there who aren't familiar with Dykie, he's one the key guy's whose been responsible for making the Welsh scene what it is today. Filming Four Wheel Dragons, Enter the Dragon, Pritchard Vs Dainton, Underexposed 1 & 2, Vapors and then going on to create Crayon Skateboards. He's also run from John 'Groats to Land's End, done a 100 mile ultra marathon, and the formidable Grand to Grand Ultra 170 mile marathon in the fucking desert.

Dykie is one of the most humblest, nicest and all round best person I've ever met. He's also the only person I know to have been chased by a zebra in Cardiff.

In no particular order..

1. Rubber boys - Public Domain (Ray Barbee etc)

This was the first video I bought from City Surf on my 13th birthday at the start of 1989. It cost me £35! My favourite was Ray Barbee. I would study his lines going down the street and try and learn his no complies. It was my first bit of proper inspiration in skateboarding and the music was so good, I would record the sound from the telly and play it back through a ghetto blaster in the street that I was skating.

P.S 23 Years later on I was lucky enough to meet Ray Barbee and the saying 'don't meet your heroes' did not account this time.

2. Ocean Howell - Next Generation

Couple of years later after a lot of tricks had been invented, Ocean Howell was one of the main pioneer's but he was doing the tricks he had invented fast and with a really good style unlike so many at that time. He really stood out and was a favourite of mine and think this is him at his best with a killer sound track to add (I believe to be the the best soundtrack to a video part).

3. John Rattray - Waiting for the World

In the foot steps of Rowley and Penny on the UK scene came along John Rattray who has it all - style, transition, stairs, rails the lot and what showcased this the best was Dan Magee's Waiting for the World where he had the last part. If there was an award for the ultimate video part it could be this it had it all, music, editing, spots, all terrain skateboarding. It even had lyrics of the song to coincide with what was happening on the board. This was also a time where I wanted to get serious about my filming, I was really inspired by Dan's cinematography. I studied this part so much on how to film and edit I may of even of watched the whole thing in slow mo.

4. Guy Mariano - Fully Flared

Although my favourite part of his is his Mouse part, this is a close second but the story behind it is very special which is why it made the Top 5 instead. For someone around my age I saw growing in up in the limelight from the age of 14, who was a big inspiration to me get to the head of the game, loose it all to drug addition, vanish from the skateboard world and get back up with properly the greatest comeback in skateboarding.

5. Chris Jones - Vase

I can feel very very slightly responsible for this part, which makes me very proud. I starting filming Chris at the young age of 14 and almost straight away he became one of my favourite people to film with. He would do anything, try anything and all in the best style. I later went on to form Crayon Skateboards with Chris being the first rider on the team and him having a really good part in the promo which I think we were both proud of but I then wanted the ultimate follow part for Chris with Crayon. Although Chris was a massive part of the whole process of Crayon he never really had that ultimate follow up part. Later Crayon sadly ended but Chris found an great home on Isle and was then followed by the amazing video talents of Jacob Harris. He had a great part in Eleventh Hour but I knew this wasn't quite what I was after for Chris with Crayon but then a couple years later Jacob released Vase and I sat in the cinema after his last part in the video and thought yeah that's it, that's what I wanted for Chris! It didn't matter at all that it wasn't for Crayon as that time had gone, I was just super hyped.